The Silicon Module Super League (SMSL) later the Solar Module Super League[1] is a group of major crystalline silicon (c-Si) module suppliers in the solar PV industry. The 'big six' industry group members were Canadian Solar, Hanwha Q CELLS, JA Solar, Jinko Solar, and Trina Solar.[clarification needed] LONGi[2] the world's largest solar monocrystalline silicon manufacturer and GCL,[3] the world's largest solar poly crystalline silicon manufacturer, both joined the SMSL in mid-2016.[4] As of February 2019, PVTech added First Solar and Risen Energy to the list of SMSL manufacturers.[1]
The achievement scale of this solar module industry breakaway group is notable. These seven module suppliers have been forecast to ship about half of the world's end-market supply during 2017.[4][needs update]
Chinese solar engineers at Trina Solar held the record for a 22.61% PV efficiency in mono-PERC-cells in 2016, with Passivated Emitter and Rear Cell (PERC) technology developed at its State Key Laboratory of PV Science and Technology of China [5] That one-third efficiency improvement was achieved through four years of PV research in China.[6]
SMSL group members have held the PV efficiency record for some time. Trina Solar in 2015 had set the previous record of 22.13%. Again, in July 2016, Trina Solar claimed that its production lines were able to produce the same kind of PERC cells in large volume with an average efficiency of 21.12%. This new, later higher cell efficiency which surpasses Trina Solar's record, has been independently confirmed by the Fraunhofer ISE CalLab in Germany. Trina Solar achieved 24.13% conversion efficiency for IBC solar cell.[7]
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